SEFFNER — Hillsborough had its chances.
Just like it did the last time it was truly tested in a preseason loss to Plant, Armwood made mistakes. The Hawks had fewer yards of offense, fewer first downs and more penalties than the Terriers in the first half.
Still, Hillsborough couldn’t capitalize. Not against an Armwood defense that towered over its district rival.
Armwood, then leading by 16, gave its opponent one last chance to make something happen when it fumbled in the fourth quarter. Hillsborough couldn’t move the ball and decided to punt on fourth and long, but a running into the kicker penalty and a personal foul gave the Terriers a fourth-and-short situation.
Once again, Hillsborough couldn’t convert, and on the ensuing drive Noah Johnson ran 22 yards for the game-clinching touchdown as Armwood blanked Hillsborough 26-0.
Key to its second-half dominance, Armwood held Hillsborough quarterback Dwayne Lawson, a Miami commit, to just 14 yards passing on two completions in the second half.
“We’ve played some great quarterbacks and we know how to defend that,” Armwood coach Sean Callahan said. “Last year after beating him, we kind of figured out what his issues are, so we tried to maximize that as best we can.”
On the first drive of the game, Hillsborough picked up three first downs to get in Armwood territory. The Terriers went for it on fourth-and-12, though, and were stopped short.
Hillsborough tried again to convert on fourth down later in the half, but Byron Cowart tackled quarterback Dwayne Lawson for a loss on fourth and inches to stop the Terriers in their tracks.
On the ground, Armwood was hot from the start. Running back Andre Rivera picked up 40 yards on a play in the Hawks’ first drive before taking it 5 yards for a touchdown later in the first quarter to give Armwood a 6-0 lead.
The Hawks led 9-0 at the half after Sterling Hofrichter kicked a 32-yard field goal with just less than seven minutes to go in the second quarter. He’d kick another, a 22-yarder, in the fourth to end scoring for Armwood.
Johnson, who finished 8-of-12 for 59 yards, connected often with backup quarterback Darrian McNeal, who had seven receptions for 45 yards against the Terriers.
“Our receivers, we stay after practice every day because we have to get our chemistry up. It just so happened that he worked the hardest and he got the ball the most tonight,” Johnson said of McNeal. “ I’ll be throwing to him a whole lot more.”
With games against Robinson and Jefferson in the next two weeks, the Hawks have a lot ahead of them. So though his team beat Hillsborough handily, Callahan isn’t clearing space for that district championship trophy just yet.
“Oh no,” he said. “And I’m sure not going to let my kids think (we’ve won it) either.”
Stars of the game
Jeremy Ware, Armwood: The senior defensive lineman sacked Dwayne Lawson twice and had several other big stops as the Armwood defense held Hillsborough to just 69 yards of offense in the second half.
Noah Johnson, Armwood: Armwood’s quarterback finished 8-of-12 for 59 yards while scoring a pair of touchdowns on 8- and 22-yard runs.
Darrian McNeal, Armwood: McNeal, also Armwood’s backup quarterback who got some reps late in the fourth quarter, caught seven of Johnson’s eight completions for 45 yards.